


Bleed You Dry

by le_chat_vilain



Series: The Joker and the Thief [17]
Category: Suicide Squad (2016)
Genre: Angst, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-16 04:44:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5814730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/le_chat_vilain/pseuds/le_chat_vilain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jay and Blaire turn to Scarecrow for answers about the serum.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bleed You Dry

**Author's Note:**

> No major warnings for this but as always there’s some violence in there. It’s just a quick bridging chapter to get us on the way for the next part of the story. Hold onto your hats kids, the trouble’s only just beginning.

“Let me do the talking, okay?” I instruct Jay as we wait outside Scarecrow’s. We’ve shown nice and early hoping to catch him off guard. I rap my knuckles on his door several times insistently before a muffled voice calls out from inside.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Jesus Christ…”

We hear the deadbolt retract and he opens the door warily, not undoing the safety chain just yet.

“Jonathan! Long time no see!” I bubble, grinning at him through the sliver of space between the door and its jamb as his eyes widen in shock. The Scarecrow and I have a long past starting with the time he was my doctor when I was first admitted to Arkham as a kid. Of course, like my father, he’s thought me dead for a long time.

“You look awfully good for a dead person, kid,” he remarks, before clocking Jay standing behind me. “Oh, hell no! No, no, no!”

He goes to close the door but Jay’s too quick. He jams his crowbar in the gap, and with a flick of his wrist snaps the security chain clean off so we can force our way inside.

“Whatever you want the answer is no!” he warns us.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Jay says with a grin, and brings the crowbar swinging down to strike him across the face. Blood sprays from his mouth along with a tooth or two, and he lands in a groaning heap on the floor. I crouch beside him and take his chin between my thumb and forefingers to make him look at me.

“Come on now, Jonathan, I thought we were friends? I thought you wanted to help me?” I taunt him. That had been what he’d told me that night, that he just wanted to make me better. He just wanted to help. How the mighty have fallen. “’Cause now’s your time to shine, sweet cheeks.”

“That was a long time ago, kiddo,” he retorts, spitting a wad of blood and another tooth out onto the carpet.

“Suit yourself,” I say with a shrug, looking to Jay before standing again and stepping back. He flurries open a butterfly knife and takes my place by Crane’s side, pinning his head to the floor with a palm on his forehead and slipping the blade inside Jonathan’s mouth.

“You know,” Jay starts, “From what I hear, you kinda owe my lady here after what you did. Leavin’ her behind and all when you went rogue, and after she was the one who gave you the idea for that pretty little toxin of yours…”

Scarecrow whimpers as Jay starts to slowly press the knife into the corner of his mouth.

“Come on, Johnny, man up! If there’s one thing I really can’t stand, it’s a coward…” Jay informs him. Blood starts to trickle down the blade along with a tear from one of Scarecrow’s wide blue eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna help me, Jonathan?” I ask him, moving my hand over Jay’s and increasing the pressure on the blade yet again.

“Okay!” comes the strained response from Scarecrow.

“Thatta boy,” I say with a smirk, pulling Jay’s hand away and giving our hostage a patronizing pat on the head. I stand once more and light a cigarette, tossing the case and lighter to Jay as he rises and pockets the knife. He looks disappointed that we didn’t get to have more fun with this, but we need the guy alive. For now.

“Before you left Arkham, you helped Jeremiah develop a serum designed for inmate control, yes?” I ask him, dragging him to his feet by his hair and depositing him in a nearby arm chair.

“Yeah, and it was a flop. What about it?” He looks from me to Jay as we loom over him.

“Accelerated healing factor, was that one of the side effects?”

“No, why? What does any of this matter to you guys, neither of you were in the test population,” he eyes us with complete confusion for a moment before the reason dawns on him. “Wait a minute, a couple months back, you two caused some chaos up there didn’t you?”

We don’t respond, we just look at each other and wait for him to finish connecting the dots.

“Are you telling me that old Jerry hung onto that stuff? And then he what, used it on both of you? HA! Man, sucks to be you guys…”

Not amused, I administer a swift backhand complete with brass knuckles to the other side of his face soliciting a wince

“We need to know if Jeremiah could have continued work on the serum without you, if he could have added a healing factor to it to try and extend the expiry,” I explain. “Is that possible?”

“Well that depends…”

“Just answer the question, Johnny,” Jay threatens, drawing his pistol and aiming it squarely at Scarecrow’s kneecap.

“Okay! Fuck, I’ll get to the point!” he exclaims, holding his hands either side of his head. “If he was able to get a sample of the blood of someone with rapid regenerative capabilities, or as a long shot, get his hands on some of the goop from the Lazarus Pit, then yes, it’s entirely possible he could have improved the formula. Theoretically, doing so could entirely eliminate the expiry issue all together. Why? Have you experienced those side effects?”

I extract the butterfly knife from Jay’s pocket and roll up my sleeve before dragging it across my wrist and slicing myself open. A minute later, the wound has scarred over and looks as though it’s been there for years. Two minutes later, it’s completely vanished.

“Wow,” he marvels. “I can’t be sure, but I daresay you guys probably have more time than you think.”

“That’s all we needed to know, thanks, Doc, it’s been a gas,” Jay croons, and raises the revolver to rest between Scarecrow’s eyes.

“No!” I command him, and push it away, looking daggers at him when he rolls his eyes.

“Why not? We found out what we needed to know, and now he knows too much. We don’t need him anymore!”

“Are you sure?” I ask Crane, ignoring Jay after shooting him a glance that lets him know we’ll be having words about this when we get home.

“I can’t be certain without a copy of the new formula, or a sample to test,” he informs me. I look to Jay and he sighs at me in exasperation; he knows I can’t leave this to chance.

“I’ll go,” he tells me, his tone telling me there’s no room for discussion, but I choose to ignore it.

“Like hell you will, I’ll use Victor’s secret passage and just-”

“You are not going back in there! I’ll fucking gas you out and tie you up if I have to!” Jay threatens.

“Jeremiah is as good as dead, what’s he gonna do? Drool on me?” I spit back, and as we stare each other down, seething, I see Jonathan sit forward and turn his attention to the television out of the corner of my eye.

“For someone who’s as good as dead he’s doing a pretty good job attending this press conference.” He reaches for the remote and takes the set off mute for us to turn around and see; Jeremiah Arkham, in the flesh and looking fit as a fiddle, right there by Commissioner Gordon’s side.

_“The Joker and Lady Anarchy have plunged this city into chaos. No more. Today we end it._

_This is Compound X, an activator serum for a chemical both fugitives have been injected with while on their recent rampage through Arkham Asylum. This is the fastest, and only way to stop them._

_Today, the GCPD in partnership with Arkham Asylum, will issue all GCPD officers with Compound X rounds, designed to administer a lethal dose of Compound X on impact._

_We will catch them. And we will stop them. Gotham will be safe once more.”_

“Well, shit,” Jay mutters. “Looks like we’ve got bigger problems now, baby.”


End file.
